Crime

Clown with Bladed Gloves Murders Man and Escapes on Scooter

VICE 5/23/17

A 29-year-old man was slashed to death in the parking lot of Torchy’s Tacos in downtown Denver, Colorado at 12:39 AM on Tuesday morning. Witnesses referred to the suspect as a man in “white, clown-type makeup with black streaks on his face,” according to a report by the Denver Police. The assailant was allegedly sporting “a glove with blades on the end of each finger.” They estimated the blades to be two to three inches long.

Cops Accuse Christian Commune of Abusing and Raping Children

VICE 7/23/17

On Sunday, police arrested current and former members of a Christian group in New Mexico for a litany of alleged crimes. According to a report on Monday by ABC affiliate KOAT-7 Action News, one member was charged with 100 counts of sexual penetration of a girl who was allegedly smuggled into this country from Uganda. The warrant used to make the arrest, which was viewed by VICE, further claims the group concealed the births of multiple children and the death of at least one boy, whose remains were buried on the group’s private property.

Former Colorado sheriff turns self in after extortion and kidnapping charges

The Guardian 5/16/16

His indictment came after a three-year effort among colleagues to hold him accountable for alleged sexual misconduct with three employees, discrimination against employees who refused to sleep with him, illegal retaliation against co-workers, and pressuring a domestic abuse victim to reverse her statement, landing her in jail so her abuser could keep his job in the sheriff’s department.

In Hesston, Kansas, small town America copes with another mass shooting

The Guardian 2/28/16

Pastor Brad Burkholder is less interested in what the recent massacre in his Kansas town says about the shooter than in what the shooting says about humanity.

Brow furrowed, deep in thought, he stares at the floor of the Hesston Mennonite Brethren church. “Nobody deserved this, but instead of thinking ‘I could never do that’, instead I pray that it’s never me. Because I could get to a place where that could be me.”

Convicted of rape based on a dream, man relishes freedom after 28 years

The Guardian 12/24/15

On a summer night in 1987, a Denver woman was out drinking with three men, and after saying goodnight and returning home, was severely beaten and raped in her apartment. Her facial bones were broken and she lost sight in one eye.

The victim first told police it was too dark to identify her attacker, then said it was one of the three men. A day and a half later, she said it came to her in a dream that the assailant was her neighbor, Clarence Moses-El.

Based on that, Moses-El, who said he was innocent, was convicted of rape and assault. But last week, a Denver judge overturned the convictions and on Tuesday afternoon, after serving 28 years of his 48-year prison sentence, Moses-El was released on bond.

“This is the moment of my life, right here,” Moses-El, now 60, said outside a Denver jail, laughing and hugging his grandchildren for the first time. “I just want to get home to my family, my grandchildren. It’s wonderful, I waited a long time for this.”

In the hours following the shooting that killed three people and injured nine at a Planned Parenthood center in Colorado Springs on Friday, many politicians and commentators were criticized for supposedly politicizing the tragedy. Some fell into the trap. Others jumped in head-first.

On Friday afternoon, shortly after news of the shooting broke, Vicki Cowart, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, sent out a statement that referred to “domestic terrorism”. The statement was subsequently revised, to refer to “acts of violence”.

“Words matter,” Cowart told the Guardian on Saturday. “And what is the definition of domestic terrorism?”

The FBI says it is “violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law”, as well as any acts of violence with a distinct ideological message or purpose.

Nonetheless, in Colorado Springs, that question was debated in a highly charged atmosphere.

Three dead after gunman storms Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado

The Guardian 11/27/15

Three people have been killed after a gunman armed with a rifle stormed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs and opened fire before an hours-long standoff with police ended when he surrendered.

Hippie Terrorists and Cocaine Corruption in the 1970s Anti-War Scene

The Fix 6/2/15

While the hippie movement of the ’60s is primarily known as one of peace and love, by the decade’s end many political offshoots of this culture began to abandon their pacifist leanings and embrace tactics of destruction and bloodshed in response to the Vietnam War. Similarly, certain segments of the African-American community rejected Martin Luther King’s call for nonviolence following the civil rights leader’s death, and began urging black citizens to arm themselves and retaliate against those who would oppress them.

In his recent book, Days Of Rage: America’s Radical Underground, The FBI, And The Forgotten Age Of Revolutionary Violence, author and Vanity Fair correspondent Bryan Burrough chronicles the number of liberal activist groups in the 1970s who turned to violence in order to get their message heard. In his extensive reporting, Burrough gained access to militants who had previously kept their distance from journalists, fearing prosecution for the crimes they had committed.

Why Are So Many Mass Shootings Committed By Young, White Men?

VICE 6/23/15

When Dylann Storm Roof ended Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina and unleashed a hurricane of bullets, he secured himself a place in the dark history of young, white American males who kill strangers indiscriminately. Of course, we’ve known for some time that most violent crimes are committed by young people, and that men are more violence-prone than women, but in recent cases like Roof’s, Sandy Hook’s Adam Lanza, and the Aurora Theater’s James Holmes, it seems like this newer breed of psychopath is more dangerous than its predecessors.

When trying to decipher gun violence, it’s tempting to focus on impoverished minority neighborhoods defined by structural woes like mass incarceration, poverty, lack of education, and so on. But research shows that mass shootings are primarily committed by white males—the most privileged class in society. So why are they the ones who snap? And is calling them “mentally ill” a way to avoid talking about race?

Will Filming Bad Cops Really Make Them Behave Better?

VICE 6/15/15

On April 29, when it seemed like the entire country was seething over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in the back of a Baltimore Police Department paddy wagon, a protest in Denver turned tense, and then violent, and police and activists clashed openly in the street.

Jesse Benn was among the protesters on the scene, and as many demonstrators do these days, he was filming the police—an act he says led to him being singled out for arrest and harassment.”During my arrest,” he told VICE, “I suffered a concussion, a severely macerated lip, a loosened tooth, and multiple abrasions and bruises on my body and face… An officer also tried to step on my camera and just missed, in what was a clear effort to damage it.” Benn’s pregnant wife Jessica continued filming after her husband’s arrest, attempting to document the chaos from a safe distance. Then she was spotted, she says, and suddenly became a target.

Aurora Theater Shooting: Defense and Prosecution Use Same Argument, Different Conclusions

VICE 4/28/15

Almost three years after James Holmes filled a Colorado movie theater with tear gas and bullets during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and injuring 70, his trial finally began on Monday afternoon. While the defense painted a portrait of amentally ill boy in need of treatment, and the prosecution insisted he was a broken-hearted killer out for existential revenge, both sides unveiled similar narratives of a young life spun dangerously out of control.

Of course, each side came to rather different conclusions about whether Holmes understood the moral implications of attacking a roomful of strangers.

The Long-Term Damage of the War on Drugs

The Fix 03/23/15

Forty-four years after Richard Nixon declared that “public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse,” there is now a nearly universal agreement that the War on Drugs has been a dismal failure. Data showing that the U.S. holds 25% of the world’s prisoners, yet contains only 5% of the world’s population, and that we’ve quadrupled our prison population since Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, has lead to legislators on both sides of the aisle coming together in recognition of the fact that we cannot jail our way out of this problem.

“Substance abuse is a problem, but locking someone up for 20 years is probably not the best strategy,” President Barack Obama said in an interview with Vice News earlier this week. “It’s something we need to rethink as a society.” While some are advocating for small but impactful reforms like removing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders, or eliminating the criminal disparity between crack and powder cocaine, there is a growing movement of liberals and libertarians alike who either want to follow Portugal’s lead and decriminalize drugs, or take the Colorado model of legalizing marijuana and apply it to all drugs. Though, simply eliminating the drug laws of the last 40 years won’t come close to eradicating the damage of the War on Drugs, which extends far beyond having too many people in prison.

Did Denver Police Really Shoot Jessie Hernandez Out of Self-Defense?

VICE 4/11/15

A recent autopsy report on 17-year-old Jessica Hernandez, who was shot to death by Denver cops on January 26 after allegedly driving a vehicle into an officer, has raised serious doubts about the cop’s claim to have been acting in self-defense. An eyewitness inside the car originally said that shots were fired before the vehicle ever moved, and the autopsy report shows that Hernandez was struck by bullets coming from the driver’s side. That potentially contradicts statements from Denver Police Chief Robert White, who said the car was headed toward the officers, striking one of them in the leg, before they opened fire.

In a statement, Hernandez family’s attorney Qusair Mohamedbhai said, “There is now objective evidence contradicting the Denver Police Department’s claims that Jessie was to blame for her own death. These facts undermine the Denver Police Department’s claim that Jessie was driving at the officers as they shot her.”

When Is It OK for Cops to Shoot a Moving Car?

VICE 1/30/15

Around 200 protesters gathered outside the Denver Police Department’s district two station Wednesday night, some pounding on the windows of the building while the now-familiar chant of “No Justice, no peace!” rang out from the crowd. A video projector was hooked up to a car battery, beaming the image of 17-year-old Jessie Hernandez onto the wall of the station. Hernandez was shot to death on Monday by two Denver police officers, one of whomsuffered a broken leg either when the car Hernandez was operating drove into him or as he moved to get out of the way. There are conflicting accounts of what exactly happened that night, but also more than enough anger to inspire a handful of protests in Hernandez’s name.

According to the Denver Police Department’s initial account, Officers Gabriel Jordan and Daniel Greene were investigating the report of a suspicious vehicle—it was allegedly stolen—in the city’s Park Hill neighborhood. As the officers approached the car on foot, the driver accelerated toward them, at which point shots were fired. But does it ever make sense for cops to shoot moving cars, even when their own lives are in danger?

Why Did a Bomb Explode Outside an NAACP Office in Colorado?

VICE 1/7/2015

Following the most divisive year in recent memory for race relations in America, the first week of 2015 was met with an act of violence possibly targeting the premier black activist organization in the country. At 10:45 AM local time Tuesday morning, volunteers working at the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP heard a loud explosion outside the building that they said was powerful enough to knock items off the wall.

Whether the alleged bomber was targeting the NAACP or not, his or her skills with an incendiary device were pretty rudimentary, and if the intention was to cause harm to any persons or property, the attack failed miserably. Despite occurring in the middle of a workday morning while many people were inside the building, no one was harmed in the explosion. According to Sanders, the building containing the NAACP and Mr. G’s Hair Design Studios “was slightly charred, as was the sidewalk, but all of the damage was external.”

Going Legit A Challenge For Black Market Cannabis Growers

The Cannabist 2/11/15

When legal marijuana becomes so mainstream that being a black market grower is as antiquated as bootlegging moonshine, what will become of those who have devoted their lives to the underground trade? In the wake of last year’s policy changes on the vertical integration of marijuana shops in Colorado, wholesale growers are expanding their operations, creating loads of new industry jobs.

Is it worth it for black market growers to click off their lamps and go work for the man? Profits may have sunk on illegal weed, yet growers in the shadows are still earning more than entry-level jobs in the white market are paying. Even if they tried to go mainstream, are employers in the legal industry motivated to hire them?

The Problem with Massive Cash Payments from Police Departments

VICE 10/28/14

In July 2010, a homeless street preacher named Marvin Booker was being processed in a Denver County jail when a guard directed him toward a cell. Booker walked in the opposite direction, indicating he needed to grab his shoes. An officer grabbed his arm and Booker resisted, pushing her away. Three more officers jumped on top of him, tasing Booker in the thigh before placing him in a sleeper hold. When the officers stood up, they found Booker limp on the ground, unconscious. He was dead.

Earlier this month, a federal grand jury awarded Booker’s family $4.65 million, the largest police settlement in Denver history. “The fight leading up to that verdict was exhausting,” says Darold Killmer, the Booker family attorney. “The city spent millions defending themselves against charges of excessive force.”

Why Did a Ghost Hunter Stab Himself Inside a Famous Ax-Murder House?

VICE 11/18/14

On November 7, a visitor to the world-renowned Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa, was rushed to a nearby hospital after being found with a self-inflicted stab wound to his chest. The house is a familiar site to paranormal investigators, who have proclaimed it to be one of the most haunted places in America following the 1912 murders of six children and two adults whose skulls were crushed while they slept in their beds. The crime was never solved, and visitors to the house regularly report emotional, physical, and supernatural disturbances during their overnight visits.

“They play with the children, they hear voices, they get pictures of anomalies,” says Martha Linn, 77, who bought the house in 1994 and restored it to its 1912 condition, stripping the place of all electricity and plumbing and turning it into a tourist attraction. “I have notebooks from just the last two years full of what overnight experiences people have had. Very few of them go away without experiencing something.”

I Worked for a Puppy Mill

VICE 9/15/14

For one week during the winter of 2005, I worked for a puppy mill. A friend and I had been hired to drive a van across the country—the company served as a middleman between major dog-breeding facilities in Iowa and various stores between there and New York City. When I signed up for the job, I had no idea that I would be committing a crime, nor that I would be participating in an industry of torture that would haunt me forever.

My friend (whom I will name Pete) and I were in our early 20s and had barely traveled outside of our rural homelands. This was our chance to explore the country while making some quick, much-needed cash (as dropout artists, we went through jobs like tissues). And puppies! My twee little heart fluttered at the idea of it: driving through Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and NYC, the urban jungles of our musical heroes, mythical landscapes we’d only read about in magazines and biographies—all in a van with maybe four or five purebred baby dogs on our laps, eagerly exploring this exotic new world alongside us.

Satanism and Guilt-Free Murder in Iowa

VICE 8/19/14

On the evening of July 18, 2013, Kathy Barlas returned to her home in Mason City, Iowa, to find her adult son waiting in the garage in his underwear, dripping with blood. “Mom, I killed Satan,” Tom Barlas Jr. said to his mother. Did he mean he hurt the dog? “No, Mom, I killed Satan,” he repeated. Kathy entered the house, heading toward her bedroom where she found her husband, Tom Barlas Sr., lifeless on the floor, bleeding from multiple stab wounds. He was dead.

When she returned to the garage, her son was gone. Calling 911, Kathy told the emergency operator that her son might be headed toward the Greek Orthodox Church of Transfiguration. The police eventually found Barlas, who resisted arrest, repeating “God and Jesus Christ,” over and over. The cops used their tasers to subdue him, eventually arresting Barlas for the first degree murder of his father.

Joshua does not feel guilty about the thousands of dollars he’s stolen. “Taking money from the government — is that stealing? Is that wrong? I don’t think so,” he says. “I don’t think we should have to work hard, making other people money, just to have food and a roof over our head. Some people work for themselves, and that’s different. But the kinds of jobs that a college degree gets you — I don’t see the value in that.”

Despite having a master’s in mathematics from the University of Colorado at Boulder — a degree that can net the recipient a job that pays $90,000 a year — Joshua lives on only a few hundred dollars a month and gets most of his meals out of a dumpster. He lives in a community warehouse space he founded with a few friends in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, a place where they live and host music shows and art openings. (Joshua requested that neither the address of the space nor his last name be published.)